Post Breach
by Shikimo
Summary: When the White Fang attacks the city of Vale, the hunters and huntresses of Beacon rise to the challenge to push them back. But what happens if things don't go as planned and not everyone makes it back home?
1. Chapter 1

Prelude

The breach was sealed. The hasty execution of the White Fang's plan had been foiled by the Atlesian might in the skies above and the forces of Beacon below. Months of planning, thousands, maybe even hundreds of thousands of Lien worth of dust and manpower, wasted. Had the attack happened just a few days later, the death toll would have been many times higher than it was today. Countless innocent lives had been spared, but the few lives that were lost weighed down on the shoulders of those that survived.

The attack having been repelled, the teams of hunters- and huntresses-in-training swiftly moved through the streets and alleys, eliminating any opposition they came across and helping the citizens get back up to face another day. Human, faunus, grimm, it didn't matter. Their orders clear, each four person squad carried out their duties with efficiency. Except for one.

"JAUNE! WHERE ARE YOU?" Pyrrha yelled, dashing through the rubble ahead of her teammates.

The blond leader was missing. Team JNPR had changed their mission upon hearing the alarm, moving to assist the citizens of Vale instead of pursuing the original mission to scout the area around a village near the border. Crashing down into the middle of a hot landing zone, the four of them had quickly neutralized the Grimm threat in the plaza. They had held the area long enough for reinforcements to arrive from the battleships above, as well as Beacon's own hunters and huntresses. A truly magnificent display for First Year students, but it had come with a price. The leader of team JNPR, Jaune Arc, was missing. The order had gone out for all squads; defeat the Grimm in their immediate vicinity, help the civilians as best they could, then regroup near Central Square. Despite these instructions, Pyrrha, second-in-command of JNPR, had told her team to find Jaune, military or Beacon orders be damned. They searched the city for their team leader, the scraggly blond that had just recently learned how to handle himself in combat, how to lead a group, how to inspire three teenagers to ignore orders from two of the most powerful groups in the realm. Somebody worth following.

The Spartan paused, checking her scroll while allowing Ren and Nora to catch up to her. The screen lit up, showing herself at about 40% aura, her team around the same level. However, what worried her more than that was the complete lack of aura shown under the picture of their leader. With the destruction all around her, she couldn't tell if it was due to interference on his scroll or if his aura was so depleted that the technology couldn't pick it up. Activating the area-wide broadcast, she spoke in an even tone. "This is Pyrrha Nikos of team JNPR, has anyone in this area seen a blond male, 17 years old, wielding a sword and shield, helping others to safety?"

The silence over the next few seconds told her more than she needed to know. She was moving forward before the voices on the other end began speaking, all saying the same thing.

No sign of the person she had described. No information regarding the location of a blond swordsman, acting as the hero of justice. Nothing in the way of locating the boy ("Man," she had corrected in her head) in question. Jaune Arc was nowhere to found above ground. Which left only one option.

"We're going down to the tracks," she stated.

Not surprised by the decision, Ren and Nora began looking for the nearest manhole. Their initial thought had been to make an entrance of their own, but the city had suffered enough damage that day. Upon finding the sewer cap, Ren pried it open, allowing Nora to jump down first, followed by Pyrrha, before climbing down himself.

The trio stuck close together, noting that the signal provided to their scrolls was weak at best, unable to relay accurate aura or GPS information to them. If their leader was trapped down here, there wouldn't be any good way to find him aside from blind luck and a knowledge of the labyrinth that unfolded around them. Tunnels split off in every direction, the scent of Grimm and destruction hanging in the air.

"There's too many tunnels, no way will we be able to check them all out. If I remember correctly, the initial entry was over that way," Pyrrha said, pointing, "So we need to head in that direction. Satellite communication is down for us, so any messages sent out will only reach us three."

"Nora, stick with Ren. Maghnild poses problems to everyone's survival should a grenade go off while we're in the substructure of the city. I'll check this path, you two take that one," Pyrrha said, gesturing to the tunnels in front of the group, "If you find anything let me know."

With a few muttered assurances (we'll find him Pyrrha, stop worrying), the trio split up, Pyrrha descending into the darkness of her chosen path. The illumination coming from her scroll and the evenly spaced lights in the tunnel made it just visible enough for her to see, but left enough shadows to hide anything that didn't want to be seen. It was in this semi-darkness that she found her way to the tracks used for the breach, as evidenced by the pieces of the stolen Paladins littering the ground.

This area was better lit than the previous tunnels, allowing Pyrrha to put her scroll away and draw her weapons. This precaution had proven to be unnecessary, for the Grimm and White Fang had both returned the tunnel to its original state of abandonment. The lights flickered off and on as she followed the tracks toward the wreckage of the train, passing by the bits of machines and bodies that littered the ground. Whatever Grimm hadn't made it through into the city had already scavenged what they could from the bodies, leaving only the odd body part here and there. Had Pyrrha stopped to consider the scene around her, she might have been sick; however, she had a goal. A hope to find someone still alive among the carnage and rubble. A dunce, yet one of the most adaptable people she had ever met. Slow to improve, but never stopped trying. Somehow oblivious to every signal given to him, but still perceptive enough to help those around him. A literal embodiment of fake it until you make it. Someone that had seen her for who she was instead of what she was. Somewhere in these tunnels, was the man she had dared allow herself to fall in love with. And she was going to find him. Come Grimm or high water, she was not leaving until Jaune was among them once again.

Upon finding the wreckage of the now exploded train, Pyrrha paused to send a message to Ren and Nora, letting them know that she had found the train used to deliver the Grimm to the city. Looking up, she briefly allowed herself to admire Professor Goodwitch's handiwork in fixing the city above. As she stepped into the train and began searching car by car, she noted the struggle put up by those that had been inside. It looked like the White Fang members left alive by the explosion had slowly banded back together, putting up more and more of a fight against the creatures that hadn't made it to the surface. While the initial cars had few body pieces left to match the shades of red on the walls, later cars had shown less wild struggles and more defensive approaches. A barricade here (torn mostly to shreds), Grimm masks there (mostly Beowolves), discarded weapons and supplies as the survivors were pushed closer and closer to the engine compartment. As she reached their last stand, she noticed blood stains had lessened, internally realizing the stalwartness possessed by the criminal organization. If nothing else, the White Fang was strong, even if misguided in their intentions.

Upon reaching the door to the engine room, she couldn't help but notice how it looked. A steel door, scratches and tears marring its surface, still closed. A beacon of hope for any survivors still inside. Pyrrha checked her surroundings one last time before approaching it, wary of any creatures or traps around her. Finding none, she knocked on the door twice.

"This is Pyrrha Nikos of Beacon Academy, are there any survivors in here? I'm here to recover a missing person, not to fight," she called out, unsure of what she hoped to hear from the other side.

Silence was all that responded. Slowly, she turned the handle to the car, using her semblance as needed to convince the metal locking mechanism to comply with her demands as quietly as possible. Once the latch had been coaxed from its resting place, she pushed the door open, steeling herself for what was on the other side.

And this is how Ren and Nora found her. On her knees, in the engine compartment of the White Fang's biggest operation. Surrounded by blood, gun shots and tears in the metal, Milo and Akouo on the ground at her side.

Cradling a broken Crocea Mors in her arms.

So I haven't been on in a while, figured I'd come back with this. I always looking for feedback, public or private, because nothing gets better without having its flaws pointed out.


	2. Chapter 2

Smoke still rose from the city in the distance, substantially less than there was just two days ago. The sun shone down as the citizens of Vale went about their days, fixing that which was broken, helping those in need, banding together in solidarity from the hell they had all gone through. Humans and faunus working side by side to repair the lives that they had lived before the Breach. The safety they had felt, living in one of the world's largest, most protected cities, had been shattered. A city, that even with the might of Atlas watching from above, was almost annihilated. A reminder that the Grimm might not be the worst threat to humanity, that there were those willing to doom themselves in an effort to be treated as equals.

And it was on this bright day, so full of sunshine and the happiness (apathy?) of nature, that the students of Beacon Academy gathered. Dressed in their black formal uniforms, they stood in the auditorium of their training ground, memorials to the fallen spread against the walls, each composed of the weapon or body of the owner. The invasion had been stopped, but every victory came with a cost. Nothing was ever gained without losing something of equal value. The lives of the innocent were paid for with the lives of their comrades. The casualties had been kept to a minimum thanks to the robotic forces of Atlas and the intervention of the fully trained hunters and huntresses of Beacon, yet they were still there. A reminder that despite their best efforts, everyone was still prey to Death. Some had died defending humans, others faunus, even a few that had hadn't cared what they were protecting as long as it had been someone worth the cost.

It was at one such memorial that she sat, teary-eyed and still refusing to accept her loss. The pieces of the blade had been arranged to look as if they were still one, but the breaks in the weapon mimicked the breaks in her heart. Numbly, she knelt in front of the display of Jaune's sword, Crocea Mors, barely registering the speech given by the country's officials. Something about the nobility of the fallen, how their sacrifice had brought about the capture of one of the greatest criminals Remnant had seen. How they had given their lives for something larger than themselves, being the beacon in the darkness that refused to go out. The greater good. The progress of society, a monument to the stubbornness of men in the darkest of times. The ability to do what was necessary to move forward, even as they stared Death in the face. The words words words that did nothing but sound pretty to those personally involved. The words that wouldn't bring him back. The words that didn't bring closure, leaving her feeling as empty as the coffin she knelt beside.

As the speeches wrapped up, mass eulogies concluded, the audience began moving throughout the room, paying their final respects to the fallen. Team RWBY approached first, leader unusually quiet, tear streaks visible under her hood as she placed her hand on the coffin. Unable to speak, she turned and hugged Pyrrha, both attempting to be the pillars of strength that their teams leaned upon. Yang followed suit, slightly unsteady, faint smell of alcohol on her breath as she offered her condolences. Blake was next, the girl unsure of what to do. Following the lead of her team, she had placed a hand on the coffin before turning away. Last was the ever-composed Weiss, image of perfection faltering as she stood there, pale hands turning whiter as she gripped the empty box. She might not have been friends with Jaune, but he had been closer to her than most, and his parting still hurt, chipping away at the ice inside. Turning away, she stopped next to Pyrrha, dabbing at the Spartan's eyes with a pristine handkerchief, smudges of eyeliner cleaned away expertly. As team RWBY left, others took their place. Team CFVY had arrived, Velvet being the only one to step forward, ears hanging low as she said her goodbyes. Next had been the teachers and staff, each saying the same comforting words, all melting together in her mind. The most surprising was when team CRDL had approached, leader being the only one to gingerly step forward. Arrogance gone, he placed a hand on the coffin and looked at the remnants of JNPR, speaking only the phrase "We're sorry," before turning and walking away. As the groups stopped approaching, Ren and Nora, stood next to Pyrrha, a hand on each shoulder.

Ren and Nora hadn't left her side since finding her in the engine room, catatonic as she rocked back and forth with the broken weapon in her arms. A love lost, never spoken, the weight of which had held her shoulders down. The individual that had accepted her as Pyrrha, the person; kind, caring, doing her best to prepare for her role as humanity's salvation (as the news anchors had called her upon learning that she would be training as a huntress). She had never needed their recognition, not when she won the tournaments and not when they had tried to pry into her life inside school grounds (thankfully Ozpin had kept the press out of Beacon and allowed her to breathe again). She had had the one thing she wanted most within her reach, and now she was about to watch as it was lowered into the ground. The body had never been recovered, but the broken weapon was enough for her. She didn't know the company that stood around him as he fought for his last breaths, but she knew that the origin of those next to him hadn't mattered to him at the end. That he had done everything to he could to keep everyone alive, human or faunus, ally or enemy, even in the face of defeat. He was truly a man who didn't care where someone had come from, but a man who only cared about who they were and where they were going. A true team leader, adapting to whatever situation was thrown at him, gauging the situations around him quickly and making the best decision at the time.

And as the coffin was lowered into the ground, burying only the pieces of his recovered weapon, she felt her throat tighten. She hadn't cried (outwardly) up to this point, and refused to do so now. As the new leader of team JNPR, she felt that such displays had no place. Focusing on the tasks at hand, she watched as the last pieces of her salvation were buried, one shovel full on top of another. Even as Nora broke down, the constantly happy demeanor broken, shoving herself into the arms of Ren, her stoic guardian. Even as she felt herself closing herself to the world around her. Even as the headmaster's words droned on and on, she felt something begin to fill in the void. Something bittersweet. Something that would hopefully one day make her feel like just a normal person again. Something that made her want to give up on being a huntress. A new focus. A different goal. One that would make a difference in the lives of others, much as his did to her. And it was with this feeling in heart that she finally looked up from his tombstone ('Tombstone? How much time had passed?'), that she realized what it was that she felt.

No longer was she the girl that pursued her parents' desire. No longer did she care about the fame and fortune that came with being one of Remnant's best huntresses. Unification of the people was no longer the thought on her mind, in her heart. No, only one emotion dwelled there now. The one that would give her closure. The one that could allow her to sleep at night (how many nights had it been since she started waking in a sweat, unable to rest?). The last thing he would have pursued, but the only thing that would keep her going.

Vengeance. The tearing down of everything that had ripped him away. The utter destruction of the organization that had wrecked her world. The end of the once-peaceful group of protestors turned terrorist. The White Fang would burn and she would be there, the first to light the pyre and the last to leave as the ashes burnt out.


	3. Chapter 3

A year had passed since her appointment as team leader. As Croceas Mors was laid to rest, Pyrrha had clutched the stolen piece of the blade against her chest. A single fragment of her world was all that remained. The small piece of the blade hung from her neck, nestled in the top of her outfits, sharp edge reminding her of the weight she carried, the weight that he had carried. Convincing JNPR to move on had been a daunting task at first. Many nights she had awoken from her nightmare to see her teammates together, sheltering each other from the storm of emotions that consumed her. She remembered feeling a semblance of relief in seeing Nora sleep somewhat peacefully, her small frame pushed up against Ren's. It wasn't long after Beacon's memorial for the fallen that the pair had spoken their feelings to one another. After the long years of not knowing exactly how the other felt and being scared to find out, they had witnessed what it would be like if they never found out for sure. Surprisingly, it had been Ren to speak his heart first, and even though all he had done was touch Nora's nose and say "Boop", it had been enough. The Valkyrie had understood exactly what he meant by the gesture and had wrapped her arms around his neck. Since that night, Nora's bed had lay abandoned, always opting to share with Ren. The two balanced each other perfectly, Nora pushing Ren to try new things and be spontaneous, Ren showing Nora the value of being at peace and finding contentment in routine. Seeing the two of them find a way to push forward had allowed her to do the same, yet in a different way.

Happy to see something truly good come from the tragedy, Pyrrha had taken it upon herself to be the somewhat questionable good to come from it. It was this inspiration that had led her to where she was now, the starry sky half-covered by the passing clouds. Just after midnight, the air was quiet, the warehouse district almost empty. A couple streetlights shone in the distance, providing just enough light to see the emptiness of the area around them.

Crouched in the shadows of the roof of one of the warehouses, Pyrrha looked through the skylight at the group working beneath her, mostly faunus but it was hard to tell behind their masks. They moved the dust quickly and efficiently, much as ants would pick apart the bodies of their prey. The White Fang had continued their operations immediately after the Breach, almost as if nothing had happened, like the lives they lost that day meant nothing to them. While she could admire their tenacity in that respect, she also knew there had to be a point where those losses began to matter. With Torchwick behind bars, the size and quality of the raids had diminished. And each night, each counter-raid chipped away at the edges of the organization, picking away more and more of their dust and men. Even as the thieves became better armed to deal with the interlopers, there was little they could do to stop the vigilante group whenever they showed up. The White Fang knew it, and the huntresses knew it.

And so Pyrrha waited on the roof, listening to her earpiece, waiting for the others to reach their destinations. She was always the first to be in position, usually followed shortly by Weiss, then Blake, Yang and Ruby. Team RWBY had always had the habit of interfering with the White Fang before the Breach, but had increased their intensity following the event. The reasons varied among team members; Weiss believed that they had failed the city by not stopping the trains before they began their move. Blake was always trying to gather more information on every operation to make sure they hadn't missed anything. Yang believed they had been too weak the first time around and was always making a point to prove their growth. Ruby had blamed herself, saying that if she hadn't been captured, the operation would have been discovered with enough time to rally the administration at Beacon and shut everything down before it had even begun.

As Pyrrha reflected on everyone else's reasons for being here, she didn't know if hers was the most noble or most childish. She was here to dismantle a criminal organization in order to help the people, as she had phrased it to herself. But really, she wanted to take every piece they removed from the White Fang and use it to try to lay her world to rest. Every raid foiled, every blow struck against the terrorists was another fragment added to the blade around her neck. Every person in the White Fang was being held responsible for the death of her leader, and she would only stop once she had collected every little piece that hadn't been properly laid to rest.

"Snow in position."

"Shadow in position."

"Golden position."

Pyrrha allowed herself a little grin at Yang's way of reporting in.

"I know we've done this many times before, but please take this seriously," Ruby said over the headset. "Crimson in position."

There was a slight pause before Pyrrha activated her headset, speaking softly, "Strawberry in position," inwardly wondering how she had ended up with that code name.

"All pieces ready to go, begin the operation," Ruby calmly said.

The plan was simple, as always. Yang would bust down a front door or two, drawing the enemy's attention. Blake would support her from the shadows, striking at the enemies too focused on the fiery blond in front to notice the moving darkness behind them. Ruby would slip past the battlefield towards the dust, drawing the attention of the guards that had been left behind to defend the haul while Pyrrha and Weiss efficiently handled any faunus near the cargo. Once the guards were down, they would inspect the stolen goods, confiscating the higher quality pieces and ruining whatever was left. Stealing from thieves had seemed questionable early on in these raids, but over time the group had justified that their actions were allowing the powers of Remnant more time to prepare for the all-out war that was on the horizon. Ozpin had to know about these raids, even if he never said anything to the girls. These was no way the headmaster hadn't noticed the increase in dust and crystals in the school, but he had allowed the raids to continue. In fact, it seemed that he supported the group, their requests for extra supplies for "training purposes" seeming to be filled quicker than the other teams.

When the first explosion sounded throughout the area, Pyrrha pushed such thoughts out of her head. Now was not the time to consider why everyone was here or who knew what. When the second explosion came from the far end of the warehouse, followed by the sound of gunfire, she knew her time was about to come. Creeping closer to the broken skylight, she watched as the ants responded to the invasion. Many of the White Fang departed, heading towards the hallways that guarded the routes to the dust cache. It wasn't long before the sounds of Crescent Rose boomed from beyond the doors, causing the remaining White Fang to stop loading the crates and pick up their weapons instead. Pointed towards the door, they stood no chance against the Spartan that crashed through the skylight, Milo and Akouo in her hands. Landing on one enemy, she pushed off towards the next target. A few managed to get some shots in before being put down by the warrior as she dashed from one masked criminal to the next. Looking around, Pyrrha saw the glyphs that Weiss used as a staircase to enter the room, calmly descending from another skylight. The warehouse they were in was rather large, easily 20,000 square feet overall, shelves stacked high with merchandise. The group's target for tonight hadn't been a small operation, but one that had been allowed to progress for a few weeks, allowing the White Fang to build up their merchandise.

Rummaging through the crates, Weiss inspected the dust and crystals within.

"Nothing special here, clearly going for quantity over quality," she bitterly said as she finished her inspection, stashing some of the crystals and the miniscule bit of rare dust into a messenger bag. "I've already grabbed everything worth taking, it's time to go."

Backing away, Pyrrha was about to push the button on her communicator when she heard a voice.

"Honestly, a bunch of animals. They call this a good haul these days?"

Silence followed, then a short "Yes, I'm aware of how things have been recently. I was arrested, not dead."

Making eye contact, Pyrrha and Weiss hid themselves, slowly creeping through the rows of stolen goods as they moved towards the voice's origin.

Sneaking through the rows, Weiss and Pyrrha located the source of the voice. There, leaning on a cane, stood a man in a white trench coat and bowler hat, looking very displeased at the area around him.

"Honestly," he continued, talking to the air around him, "what is a world-class criminal like myself supposed to do with this lot? These animals provide me nothing but headaches and low quality product, but I feel some fun might be in the works."

"I mean, how often do you get to fight against kids this strong?" he asked, turning towards Pyrrha's hiding place, Melodic Cudgel rising.

Before the first shot rang out, she was already moving.

As the first dust-infused shot landed on her previous hiding spot, she racked her brain for a quick solution to closing the distance between them. Her weapons and style were better suited for close combat, but as another shot sped towards her cover, she was forced to dive away and take cover.

"Oh come on," he taunted, "I just got a new dust chamber in this, I wanna see what it does."

As the next shot rang out, the projectile appeared to be blue and instead of exploding, the area impacted by this shot froze over, spikes of ice sticking out dangerously in the direction the shot was heading.

"Well now, that was neat. I wonder what this one does."

Hearing the dust chamber spin, she saw Weiss's glyph appear underneath her resembling the hands of a clock beginning to spin faster. As the report from Melodic Cudgel rang out, Pyrrha was already moving past it towards its owner. The little ball of electricity passed by her, proximity causing a few static shocks on her arm as she dove past it. She stopped herself in front of the escaped criminal, intent to subdue him and put his back behind bars. But as she readied Milo for an incapacitating blow instead of a lethal one, she remembered that this man had been arrested for more than just theft. His charges included trying to destroy the city of Vale by leading the subterranean Grimm into its midst. By shattering her world. By taking him from her. If nothing else, Roman's attack had succeeded in that regard. At least one person that day had been ruined, future hopes and dreams crushed under the assault of the beasts. However, he hadn't planned to find himself staring down those people. And yet, he looked completely unconcerned as Milo's blade was brought to bear against him, didn't even move his the spear buried itself into his chest, all thoughts of subjugation cast aside. And as Milo pierced Roman's body, Pyrrha watched as the illusion shattered into pieces around her.

"I was being serious," he said, standing next to a girl with brown, white and pink hair, "How often do you get to fight against opponents like this?"

At his side, Neo just cocked her head to the side and grinned, the irises of her eyes changing to match her hair. Pushing off again, Pyrrha dashed towards the pair, intent on impaling Roman upon her spear. As she neared her target, a closed parasol deflected her strike, followed by a swift kick to her chest. Despite being pushed back by the blow, the pain hardly registered in Pyrrha's mind. With only the destructor of her life in her sight, she surged back in, feeling the effect of Weiss's haste glyph starting to taper off. As she crashed back towards the duo, she threw Akouo towards Neo, the sharpened edge aiming for the girl's neck. Even in her bloodlust, she knew that unless she got through this lapdog she would never reach her intended target. As the parasol nonchalantly came up to block the disc, Pyrrha used her semblance to turn the shield sideways, effectively bypassing the umbrella. As the image of Neo shattered, Akouo immediately began its return to its owner, preparing to defend against the oncoming counterattack.

As the shield neared its bearer, a parasol crashed down upon it, pinning it to the ground. Despite the small cut on her neck, Neo just cocked her sideways and smiled at Pyrrha. With a change in her eye color, Neo began attacking Pyrrha. Despite her small stature, her kicks ricocheted powerfully off of Pyrrha's gauntlets, continuing to press the Spartan back. Spear met umbrella as the two attacked each other, neither yielding to the other. Every blow was met with a counter-blow, every move like that of a choreographed routine.

The Invincible Girl versus the most deadly silence Remnant had seen in waking history. Pyrrha might not be as physically strong as Yang, but she made up for it with her ability to change her assault on the fly, compensating for every missed strike, preparing a defensive response every time her attacks struck nothing the air where the girl had been moments before. Despite the years of traditional training, Pyrrha was unable to land a solid blow against the smaller girl. As the pair moved up and down the rows, merchandise being knocked from the shelves and littering the ground, neither was able to gain the upper hand.

In the background, Roman faced off against the Schnee princess, each unable to support their partner any longer while facing the other. Even as Weiss pushed against him, years of training fueling her every hit, the criminal had managed to guard against every blow, blocking every lunge with his cane, turning aside deadly strikes with simple movements of his weapon. For a man that preferred to stay out of the fray and let others do his work for him, Roman Torchwick was far from helpless when it came to handling himself up close. Sparks flew as the weapons collided, Myrtenaster changing colors as Weiss cycled the dust in the chamber, switching between types to keep her opponent off guard. Any attempt she had made to use her glyphs had been ended quickly by the shots from Roman's newly-enhanced cane. The new types of ballistics had significantly increased the power behind each shot, and while she was able to respond in time with the opposing type of dust, she had never been able to concentrate enough to use her semblance in any useful way. With distance fighting out of the question, Weiss had been staying on the criminal, too close for him to fire off his dust rounds. As this pair went back and forth, their dance didn't cover ground like the other's did, rather they slowly revolved around a single open area. The edge of the area showed many signs of dust abuse, blackened spots where electricity had struck before dissipating, smalls fires attempting to spread but burning out, shelves bent and torn as the ice had ricocheted from them. Pushing Weiss pack, Roman fired a red dust-infused shot at her before smirking, "You know princess, if I had known you were this good of a dancer, I might have arranged this meeting a lot sooner."

Ignoring the comment, Weiss didn't waste any of the scant time the thief had provided her. As the smoke from the blast cleared, Roman was hardly surprised to see the white glyph in front of his opponent. Even as the glyphs surrounded him in every direction, he seemed unconcerned. As Weiss began bouncing from glyph to glyph, his eyes seemed able to track her movements, dust-infused cane rising to every challenge Myrtenaster brought forth. Using the curved end of his weapon to block a high strike, Roman aimed low as he fired, the dust enchanted projectile aiming towards where Weiss should be next appearing. As the smoke cleared from the fired round, he noticed the globe of ice that surrounded and protected his intended target from the shot. As he prepared his next attack, he began to feel his muscles slow, movements not quite as coordinated as they had been. It felt as if the very air around him had lowered in temperature, the cold slowing his movement and perception of his surroundings. He watched in slow motion as Neo and Pyrrha came crashing through another shelf, landing a few feet away from the pair. As he glanced at the duo and noticed the glyph spanning the length between himself and his subordinate, he knew that the fight was over with. For now.

"Neo, sweetheart, I would highly suggest guarding right about now," he said, voice free of concern as the temperature started to change, "You wouldn't want to catch a cold, would you?"

As Neo looked to her boss, she realized what was happening in the air and on the ground around her. As the cold closed in on her body, her only reaction was to pout that the fun was over.

Pyrrha leapt out of the glyph moments before the attack went off, using her semblance to accelerate her departure from the area. She had seen Weiss use this glyph only a few times before and she knew better than to be caught in it. As the area above the glyph snapped into a frozen state, Pyrrha searched for the ice sphere that Weiss used to protect herself, knowing the immense drain the Flash Freeze imposed upon the huntress. Spotting the orb next to a frozen Roman, Pyrrha dashed over as a semi-conscious Weiss dissolved the sphere and stumbled to the ground. The Ice Queen Specialty (as Yang called it) was able to temporarily freeze an entire area of the battlefield, but creating and maintaining the frozen space put an immense burden on the user and was only deployed as a last resort. Pulling the Schnee onto her back, Pyrrha began looking for an exit. From the commotion in the hallways, the rest of RWBY had broken off their assault, expecting the pair to have long since finished their task. Pyrrha scanned the room, eyes resting on a door near the back. Pushing through it, she found herself in a corridor that ran the length of back of the building, exit sign glowing red at the other end.

"Of course it'd be down there," Pyrrha muttered to herself, closing the door behind her. The corridor's lights flickered into existence as the motion sensors picked up the pair's entrance. Not all of the lights came on however, lending the pathway an eerie, half-shadowed appearance. The path was an emergency exit, the walls on either side being flat panels with no other doors all the way down.

Trudging forward with the burden on her back, she listened to the noise behind her. The Flash Freeze wouldn't last long against criminal duo's auras, but it should last long enough for them to make it to the door and outside. She activated her earpiece and spoke, "Strawberry and Snow moving towards the rear exit to the building. Snow is down, need backup."

Radio silence was all that responded as she pushed towards the exit. The noise behind her started to calm down and she knew that it wouldn't be long before the White Fang was racing down the corridor after her. As she reached the door, she turned the handle and pushed, only to be met with resistance as it didn't open. Setting Weiss down against the wall, Pyrrha turned the handle and slammed her shoulder into it, but the door refused to budge. Upon inspecting the door, she noticed that it had been locked electromagnetically, and even with her own use of magnetic fields she wouldn't be able to get the bars between the door and the frame to budge. Still, she had to try, the effects of the Flash Freeze surely having worn off by now. Turning the handle, she tried pulling at the metal inside while pushing into the door. Continuing its stubborn resistance, she radioed again as she strained against the door.

"Anyone that can hear me, Strawberry and Snow need extraction. Rear of building," she grunted as she pushed again, "Door won't budge."

As she finished her message, she heard the click of a door echo down the hallway.

'No no no,' she thought, turning towards the sound. At the other end of the corridor, she spotted a single figure silhouetted in the entranceway. One with a parasol over their shoulder.

"Need extraction, now!" she yelled into her headset, panic beginning to set in as high heels echoed off the wall.

Like a cat with a mouse, Neo stalked down the corridor, emphasizing each step, grinning as her prey reacted to the sound of her drawing closer. Almost silently, Neo drew the hidden blade from the umbrella's shaft, slowly, deliberately as she passed thorugh the light and dark of the hallway. The grin disappeared when a click resounded through the corridor, one that hadn't come from her heels.

Pyrrha was instantly in motion, grabbing Weiss's limp form around the waist and hauling her over her shoulder. The heiress wouldn't be pleased about it later, but now was not the time to worry about that. Turning the handle as she slammed her shoulder into it, Pyrrha burst through the now unlocked door into the night. As she slammed it shut, another click was heard as something crashed into the other side.

"Strawberry!"

Pyrrha turned towards the voice, green eyes meeting amber. Blake was in the shadows by the door, scroll out with a program on the screen used for cracking security networks. Pyrrha had never asked where Blake got it or why she had it, but right now she was thankful that the girl had such a thing.

"Where are the others? We need to go. Now," Pyrrha commanded.

"We split up to cover more of the building's exits in case you came out somewhere you didn't expect to. Rendezvous point is this way, I'll call them over."

Beginning to struggle under the girl's weight as the adrenaline wore off, Pyrrha took off with Blake, the pair trio moving as quickly and quietly as they could, slight moans emanating from Weiss's slumped form. They arrived at their destination shortly, an alleyway just off the main street to the warehouse district. Setting Weiss down against the wall, Pyrrha slid down it herself until she was seated next to the white-haired girl. As she recalled the events of the night, a gust of wind brought a whirlwind of petals into the alley. Looking up, she recognized the black and red combat skirt and cape of Ruby Rose.

"What happened to you guys? Normally you're in and out and done before we even get halfway through our thing but tonight it seemed like you took forever and we were beginning to get worried so we split up and oh my gosh is Weiss hurt what happened Pyrrha talk to me," Ruby rattled off, talking at a speed that matched her entrance to the alley.

"We're fine, for now, but we need to get Yang and get out, sooner rather than later. I'll explain in detail when we get back to Beacon, but the short version is Torchwick showed up and it went downhill from there."

Blake's eyes narrowed at the name. "He's supposed to be locked up."

"Yes, I'm aware, but he's not. Weiss fought him and-"

Pyrrha was interrupted by the blonde that crashed into the ground next to her, seeming to have jumped down from the roof above them. "There's no one up top, but there's a rowdy crowdy coming this way. You guys must have really picked up something good," Yang said, looking expectantly at Pyrrha. When she noticed the unconscious Weiss, her demeanor changed, "What happened to her?"

Pyrrha sighed, "Long story. Torchwick, fighting, White Fang, we need to go. Now."

"Torchwick? Isn't he locked up?" Yang asked.

"Yes! Well, no, not anymore. Weiss fought him, we had to Flash Freeze and get out, and that 'rowdy crowdy' as you put it is coming to finish what we ran away from. Can we please leave now?"

Yang bent down to scoop up the heiress as Ruby extended her hand to the Spartan. In the distance, they could hear the noise coming from the White Fang as they closed in on their position. "Yes, let's go," Ruby commanded. Despite being the youngest, she had been team leader for over a year now and now spoke more sure of herself when giving orders.

Yang shifted Weiss comfortably on her back as Pyrrha stood and the group sped off towards the safety of Beacon. Behind them, the sound of the mob faded away, the dim lights and haggard streets of the warehouse district melting into the more residential areas. The streets were better maintained here, and it wasn't long before the spire of Beacon was in sight. The girls continued speeding towards home, not slowing down until they had crossed onto the grounds. Even in the city, there was a chance that the White Fang would strike at them, but on these grounds they were safe. The group headed towards the dormitories, entering into team RWBY's room as quickly as they could. Yang placed the still unconscious Weiss onto a bed as Pyrrha collapsed on another, adrenaline finally wearing off and exhaustion overcoming her. Her aura was certainly low at this point, but not as depleted as Weiss's.

After Weiss had been put under her covers, Ruby, Blake and Yang approached Pyrrha.

"So what happened?" Yang asked.

Pyrrha began retelling the events of the night, having practiced this report during the trip back to the school. Giving every detail she could, she noticed Yang's temper flare a bit when she mentioned the umbrella henchwoman. Ending her tale with her escape through the door, Pyrrha looked at Blake.

"By the way, thanks for getting that door open," she said, "If you hadn't gotten through the security on it, Weiss and I probably wouldn't be here right now."

Instead of accepting the thanks, Blake looked at Pyrrha. "I didn't get the door open. I thought that was you."

Now it was Pyrrha's turn to be confused. If Blake hadn't saved them, who had?

* * *

A/N: Well that came out longer than anticipated. Hopefully next chapter will be up next Friday, but seeing as I'll probably re-write the whole thing like I did this one, it might be delayed a while.


	4. Chapter 4

It had been two months since Pyrrha had fought and lost against Roman and Neo. The counter-raid had been successful in accomplishing its goal of slowing the White Fang down, but with the return of their master thief, they had begun conducting more high-scale raids, seizing larger quantities of dust in an attempt to make up for lost time. The tactics used by team RWBY were beginning to be less effective as more dust storages and shipments were being hit than they could keep up with. They still picked away at edges of the operation, but as the operations grew larger, their impact had lessened dramatically. After going so hard for so long, the huntresses had to call a time out, just a single night to rest and recover. The endless cycle of classes, training, counter-raiding, sleep, repeat, had begun to take its toll on the group. Attempting to enjoy a moment's reprieve, team RWBY and team JNPR had met in the city of Vale for a night of relaxation, trying to take their minds off of the task with which they relentlessly threw themselves at.

Yang had been the one to propose the idea night on the town. A good meal at a restaurant, some drinks with the food, moving from dinner to a club in the seedier part of town ("It's ok, I know the owner."). The night's reprieve was welcome, even if the activities were all ones that Pyrrha was unaccustomed to. Most of her life until now had been spent training, studying, photo shoots, and endorsement deals, pretty much everything possible except having a social life. And while the idea of going out and relaxing was something that she understood, the actual process behind it had blown her mind. When the blonde had suggested the idea, Pyrrha had illogically expected it to be a simple affair of just dinner with a few drinks and that the "club" Yang referred to was something along the lines of a country club. Pyrrha recalled being surprised when her orange-haired teammate had grabbed her by the arm and yanked her into town to "buy something fanciful. Or dangerous. Ooh ooh, or both. Yes both," and then spending the next two hours going from clothing store to clothing store to weapons store then back to clothing store. The end result had been surprising to the redhead. As she looked at herself in the full-length mirror in JNPR's room, she realized that she liked the culmination of the day's running around.

The dress was simple, yet elegant. Form-fitting, knee-length, the material was a soft cotton. Originally she had chosen this dress to get Nora off her back, but she hadn't realized the lengths that the Valkyrie was willing to go for this night on the town. After picking the dress, Pyrrha had been dragged to a seamstress or three, each performing a slight modification here and there. The end result was slit up the left side that reached her thigh, golden embroidery along the edges all the way around. The simplified design ran up her sides as well as along her shoulders towards her collarbone, where it danced and dipped, tracing the outlines of her modest cleavage before conjoining into her emblem resting below the bottom of the cut. Atop the symbol sat the fragment of Crocea Mors, now on public display for the first time since its theft. She wore a pair of black leather boots, the supple material covering everything from just under her knees downward. And in looking in the mirror, Pyrrha was reminded of something. She saw the person she used to be. The girl that had worried about her public appearance, that had used product after product to look how the public thought she should. The way that she had been before entering Beacon, before the White Fang had torn it all down. And for the first time, that thought didn't invade her memory and make her entire being cry for vengeance. For the first time in a long time, she was able to look at the coming night and wonder what fun adventures it would bring with it, ones that didn't deal with the pain of her memories. Eighteen years she had never known the peace that came with a night out with friends, the past twelve months serving as a reminder that there was always something to be done, and now she stood here, modeling for herself and Nora, reveling in the idea of taking some time to just be herself. Tonight, she was not a huntress. Tonight she was not a celebrity. Tonight, she was a normal 18 year old girl, going out with her friends. For tonight, she refused to be Pyrrha Nikos, child star turned tournament champion turned huntress, but rather being Pyrrha Nikos, girl.

And as she sat at the black bar, drink in hand, she realized that this was actually fun. Here she sat, oblivious to the problems of the world around her, worrying only about the amount of liquid in her cup and lien in her bank account. Well, not really worried about the second, her sponsors had made sure that she had enough funding for whatever she saw fit, but this didn't quite seem to line up with that idea. This money was supposed to go towards training equipment, trainers, any sort of clothing geared towards combat and bettering herself as a hunter, any pieces needed to improve her weapons, and here she sat, in a dive bar with a dance floor, drinking on Marshmallow Pete's tab. And as she sat there, she wondered what Pete liked to drink after a day's work. Would he prefer a good stout or a fine bourbon? Did Pete even drink? She made a note in her scroll to look that up later. Looking up from her own drink, Pyrrha took in her surroundings.

Ruby sat a few chairs away, face-down on the bar, continuing to drink through a complex series of straws that interlinked between her mouth and her cup. Honestly, the girl could have been a bit more efficient with it. Removal of a straw here and there would let the drink reach her mouth that much faster. Wait, wasn't Ruby underage? How did she even get in here? Of course, the answer to the question occupied the seat next to the younger girl, drink in one hand, gesticulating wildly as she told another story. As Yang's tale reached its crescendo, a small thud was heard alongside the bass from the speakers, indicating that Blake had followed in her leader's footsteps, head thumping against the bar next to her white russian, ribbon slightly askew. Blake's hands moved quickly enough to reposition the accessory into a safe spot before most people noticed, but Pyrrha Nikos was not most people, catching a glimpse of the cat ears on her friend's head. Resisting the urge to walk over and pet the kitty, she instead focused her attention on the impossible event past the faunus. Ruby's reaction to alcohol had been expected, Yang seemed to be completely in her element, and even Blake's descent from sobriety seemed normal. But Pyrrha found it damn near impossible to tear her eyes away from the sight in front of her, much less comprehend the hows and whys. Had it been Nora that held her gaze ( _Where was that girl?_ ), Pyrrha could have understood it. If it was Yang on the bar, it would have almost been expected.

But staring at the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company as she _danced on a fucking bar_ was not something that Pyrrha had been prepared for. Even the fact that the word fuck had crossed her mind when she tried so hard not to swear didn't compare to the sight. Dressed in a white skirt that cost much more than it appeared to, glyph patterns stitched into a pattern around the girl's form, Weiss quite eloquently showed that she knew much more than just textbooks as she moved in time with the music.

"Hey Cereal Girl, you gonna finish that drink or what?" Yang yelled from her seat. "Next round is on you and I need a refill. Blake too."

At the mention of her name, Blake lifted her head off the bar and nodded, the movement almost causing her to fall off the barstool. Righting herself again, Blake finished the drink in her and placed the cup on the bar, looking at Pyrrha expectantly.

'At least Ruby is trying to save my bank account,' Pyrrha thought as she placed the drink order. Strawberry sunrise for Yang, white Russian for Blake, double-shot rumplemintz for Weiss, rum and coke for herself. She watched as the bartender crafted each drink, bottles spinning as the proper ratio of alcoholic drink to non-alcoholic drink was added to each cup. With one final flourish, the barman laid each drink in front of its recipient, going so far as to put a non-alcoholic drink next to Ruby's head. Yang cheered as Blake quietly accepted her drink. Weiss stopped her movements to bend down provocatively as she scooped up the glass and downed its contents. Ruby made a few noises as she connected her new drink to the previous drink through yet another series of straws, probably not sure of what was in either one. Picking her glass up, Pyrrha excused herself to the ladies' room, drink quota having been filled.

As she walked, she looked at the crowd in the club. A bar as seedy as this one always had customers from all walks of life, and she realized what a shame it was that human and faunus alike could only gather in places such as this without having some sort of racial tension between them. In her walk, she noticed a pair of humans buying drinks for a couple of female faunus while chatting them up. Maybe they were working on their own sort of novelty card, but at least it was a step in the direction of getting people to see beyond what was right in front of them. A couple such folk had approached her earlier in the night, all trying to buy her a drink, each showing off more than the last. She had entertained them briefly, but in the end, Pyrrha had sent her would-be suitors away, clearly not looking for the same thing they had been.

Distracted by the crowd, Pyrrha didn't notice the girl until they bumped into each other. With a quick apology, Pyrrha continued onward towards the ladies' room, only glancing back as her hand reached the door handle. And as she looked back at the person she had bumped into, the short girl winked at her. Flattered, but not one to swing that way, Pyrrha just gave her a small wave, letting the girl with pink and brown hair escape into the crowd. And as she started to pull on the door, the realization hit her. Scanning the crowd again, this time with a purpose, Pyrrha saw her heading towards the exit. Initial course forgotten, Pyrrha released the handle and made her way towards the doors, dropping her drink off at a table along the way.

Stepping outside, Pyrrha quickly looked around the area. The night was warm, so the amount of people smoking outside the club obscured her vision, tendrils of burnt tobacco weaving their way towards the sky. Catching a glimpse of pink and brown heading into an alley, Pyrrha followed. She had never been the stealthiest person, but she knew how to tail a target. Ducking behind cover as she entered the alleyway, she watched as the girl moved nonchalantly down the space between buildings, heels echoing off the walls. Silently moving from cover to cover, Pyrrha followed her, doing her best to avoid the debris that covered the ground. After following the smaller girl for what felt like forever, Pyrrha turned a corner and found her target seated atop some crates piled against the wall, spinning her umbrella nonchalantly.

"You," Pyrrha spoke, her buzz starting to fade away as her battle-hardened senses fought for dominance. She pushed a few buttons on her scroll, staring down her enemy.

Turning her head to the side, Neo continued smiling, parasol pausing mid-spin.

"You winked at me."

The girl blushed slightly as she nodded.

"You tried to kill me," Pyrrha said.

Neo nodded again, casually moving her necklaces to the side, revealing the small scar from Akouo, grin never leaving her face.

"And now you're here to finish the job."

Neo paused, thoughtful for a second. Turning her head the other way, she continued to stare at the Spartan. She watched as the weapons locker smashed into the ground by the redhead, waiting as Pyrrha opened the container and began to don her equipment.

Lacking her (currently drunk) support mage, Pyrrha armed herself, the last encounter with the girl running through her mind. After their last raid, she learned that it hadn't been the girls' first encounter with the henchwoman. During the first encounter, they had learned the girl's name (Neo), and the second time Yang had fought her alone and lost, only being saved by a mysterious woman that seemed to completely overpower the girl.

Taking these facts into consideration, Pyrrha realized that without Weiss's aid, had a tough fight on her hands, one that would become infinitely more impossible should Roman or someone else show up to assist the smaller ice cream themed girl. She knew that she was stronger than Yang, especially in a one-on-one fight, but after hearing how easily Yang had been beaten and having fought Neo herself, she was apprehensive about how things would go. Pushing such thoughts from her mind, she finished readying herself, Neo having sat atop of the crates for the duration, one leg bouncing up and down impatiently as she waited. Hopping down from her perch, Neo grinned widely at the challenge in from of her.

Dashing from her location, Pyrrha assaulted the small girl in front of her, skills refined by years of training blurring with strikes and attacks learned from her brawler of a friend. Mixing traditional technique and improvised strikes, Pyrrha pushed her offense forward, not bothering to slow when the illusions shattered or she was struck by her opponent. Fighting Neo was something like fighting with Ruby and Blake at the same time. The smaller girl relied on her agility to avoid taking hits and responding with careful aim while Pyrrha used her own combination of weapon skill and raw strength to push her back. As Pyrrha's strikes shattered images, she had to immediately search out the smaller combatant, expecting an attack from any angle. As another illusion shattered, Pyrrha switched Milo into rifle form, firing the weapon upon sighting Neo, bullets being stopped by the strength of the girl's aura. Switching her weapon back, spear met parasol as Pyrrha pushed Neo back into close combat. From a distance, neither one was able to do any serious damage to the other, so the combatants had to engage each other directly in an attempt to emerge victorious. As Pyrrha pushed herself against Neo's umbrella defense, she understood why Torchwick had hired the girl. She was incredibly skilled, and for a criminal like him-

Torchwick. They key component to the breach. The human that had set out to destroy the lives of all the citizens in Vale. The man that had almost brought the city to its knees. The crime lord that had temporarily broken her, the ever-sharp reminder currently displayed for the world to see.

And this girl had defended him. She had held off a part of team RWBY, slowing them down enough that they couldn't stop the train in time. Had Yang been present for the fight with the masked chainsaw guy, they could have overpowered him and stopped Roman and the train before it reached its destination and kept her world intact. Which meant one thing.

This girl was just as guilty for Jaune's death as the rest of the White Fang, maybe even moreso. And in Pyrrha's Spartan mind, there was only one sentence for the crime. Death.

As the pair broke apart once again, Pyrrha felt her emotions rising inside her, a year of repression threatening to break the surface. And as the two combatants crashed again, Pyrrha pushed harder, throwing her opponent off balance. Technique rapidly gave way to rage, each attack becoming more reckless than the last, and yet the smaller girl was unable to respond appropriately to the ferocity, movements seeming to slow. And as Neo deflected the spear upwards with her parasol and kicked out at the redhead, she found herself unable to move her legs as an invisible force pulled her backwards into the wall of the alley. Using her semblance on the pieces of lead still in Neo's clothes, Pyrrha pinned the smaller girl against the wall. Vision turning red, Pyrrha saw nothing but the demise of an important part of the White Fang. Staring down her target, she took the step from the cliffs of her morality and fired Milo towards the girl, spear aimed true at where her heart should have been. And as the spear embedded itself and the haze cleared from her vision, Pyrrha was unable to comprehend the scene in front of her.

She could only stare as Milo quivered, blade buried in the space between golden arcs on a white background.

Staring numbly as the dead rose up in front of her

At the living, breathing Jaune Arc in front of her.

Protecting the girl against the wall.

End prologue

* * *

A/N: Well that was fun. Hopefully the next chapter will be out in a week, this one took a lot more time to polish up than I thought it would. And yes, I took an entire 4 chapters to write a prologue. Honestly, it was supposed to only be three, but for some reason I decided to split the first chapter into two separate entries and ended up with this. Tune in next time for more fun things.


	5. Chapter 5

Looking at the roof of the tunnel, Jaune Arc couldn't help but think that nothing ever went as he planned. Instead of being in a safe little village on the outskirts of the kingdom, he was in a subterranean nightmare, cut off from his teammates, surrounded by Grimm and members of the largest anti-human group on the continent. Picking himself up from the top of the train, he took in his surroundings. Rubble lined the tracks, men and women in masks fighting against the terrifying new creatures around them. Surface Grimm were a threat, but they were able to be beaten back. The subterranean Grimm were a new species of the beasts to him, one that proved much more formidable. Easily the size of an Ursa Major, these Grimm had more bone plating and were much tougher in general. The White Fang was being pushed farther and farther and back towards the engine room, hastily made barriers being smashed with ease. Gathering his wits, Jaune stood up and began running along top of the cars in the same direction as the White Fang. Crocea Mors at the ready, he jumped off the train, aiming his blade between the bone plates of a Grimm about to devour an injured faunus. As the blade sank between the plates, the Grimm roared, reaching behind it to grab the offender. Dislodging his weapon, Jaune rolled off the Grimm's back, shield up to deflect the next attack. Swinging his blade once more, he struck at the Grimm's eyes, attempting to blind the creature. Blade strained against bone as the armor plating gave way, bile bursting forth as the eyes ruptured. Using the time bought by the attack, Jaune grabbed the faunus by the torso and dragged him into the wreckage.

Slamming the cargo door shut behind him, Jaune surveyed his surroundings. Farther down the train, he could hear the sounds of resistance, the criminal organization slowly regrouping, managing to hold the Grimm off longer under each assault before being beaten back. As the now blinded Grimm began assaulting the train car from the outside, Jaune started setting up a barricade around the door to the engine room. It wasn't much, mostly just an arch of crates, but at least it offered something to hide behind when the beasts breached the compartment. The door at the far end of the car opened, White Fang members running through to escape from the death behind them. The last one through the door slammed it shut, piling anything nearby against the inward-opening door in an attempt to slow the monsters down. Chainsaw sword in hand, he turned and noticed the unaccounted for occupants of the car. Levelling the weapon towards the blond, he spoke.

"What are you doing here, human? Isn't your kind supposed to be up there, saving your species while repressing ours?"

"I, well, I, uh, kinda fell through a hole in the street and ended up on top of this train," Jaune said, nervously, "I mean, really, I would much prefer to be up there and not down here, trapped with you guys and the Grimm, but it seems that today's just not my day."

Taking a few steps forward, the man regarded the boy in front of him. "Do you have a problem with being among the faunus?"

"No, not at all, none whatsoever, sir," Jaune stuttered, "I just really didn't want to die today."

"Well, you can't have everything Blondie," the man said, preparing to close the gap between them and end the human's pitiful existence.

Lunging forward and bringing his chain-sword to bear, the masked man dove towards Jaune. Barely raising his shield in time, the sheer force of the hit pushed Jaune to his knees, the circular motion of the blades trying to dig into his only defense. Still gripping his weapon, Jaune brought his other arm up against the shield, trying to keep from being pushed down farther to a point where he wouldn't be able to guard. As the weight of the man pressed down upon him, he heard a voice.

"Crim, leave him be."

Crim stopped trying to force his weapon down as he regarded the faunus against the wall. "Why?"

"Well," the faunus with the glasses on his mask began, "for one, he saved my life out there. Two, we are currently being attacked by a Grimm presence much stronger than we had anticipated and, faunus or not, we need all the help we can get in order to even try to make it out of here alive. With all of the holes sealed, the Grimm have turned their undivided attention to us and so far, that has not worked out very well."

Pulling back, Crim stared at the boy on the ground. As he began to speak, the Grimm from the previous car smashed into the poorly barricaded doorway, interrupting him before he could begin.

"Into the engine room, now," he commanded the other faunus in the car, "Perry, can you walk?"

The faunus against the wall let out a chuckle. "I was dragged onto a train by a human, do you really think I can move that well right now?"

Crim moved towards his injured comrade, picking him up and turning towards the engine compartment. As he approached the door, he spoke over his shoulder, "You too, get in here human."

Jaune complied without question. Following the larger man into the room, Jaune closed the door behind him. As Crim laid Perry against the wall, Jaune took a look at those around him. Faces hidden behind the masks, he couldn't make out any details about them, but there was one thing he did notice. Everyone in this room wanted to survive this encounter. And of all the people in here, only two of them were armed. Himself, and the man with the oversized chainsaw.

"You're protecting them," he said.

Crim stood, looking down on the boy in front of him. "Of course, it's what we do. If I threw them out to the Grimm, then I'd be no better than the humans we want to get rid of."

"You know, we aren't all like that," he started hesitantly, "And labelling an entire race based on the actions of a handful seems to be exactly what your "organization" is fighting against."

The door shuddered in its frame as Crim approached the human.

"I honestly don't care if you're a human or a faunus. I just want to survive this whole thing and make it back to my team, much as like you want to get back home to whatever you have waiting for you."

Crim smiled underneath the mask, an action unseen by those around him. Still distrusting of the man in from of him, he spoke. "If only there were more like you," he said, readying his chain-sword as the door shuddered once more.

As the door was pulled open from its frame, Jaune froze, unsure how to react. Eight glowing eyes looked back into his two as the first two legs wove their way through the doorway. Pushing its way through, Jaune stared at the Arachnus in front of him. Eight thin legs supported a body small enough to fit through the opening, yet the frail appearance did nothing to diminish the terror this beast beheld. Bone plating covered the legs and most of the abdomen, small openings near the joints of each legs. Its white mask was splattered red with the blood of those it had already consumed. Clearly an aged Grimm, it looked around the room, eyes in every direction, mandibles clicking. Its gazes settled upon the masked man and the blond, realizing the only the room's only threats. As the first leg shot out, Crim met it with his bladesaw, teeth chipping away at the armor plating. Forcing the limb away, he stepped back, watching the enemy in front of him. As a leg shot forward towards Jaune, he was in motion, weapon moving to cut the limb as it buried itself into the golden arcs of the shield. As the black blood flew through the air and the appendage hit the ground, the Arachnus paused to observe its prey once more. Seven limbs left, it began to spray a web along the walls of the compartment behind it. Pushing off from the wall, it hurtled itself towards Crim, attempting to overcome the faunus. As the chainsaw came up to meet it, the Grimm pulled itself back along the web strand behind it. Weapon missing by inches, Crim pursued retreating Grimm, scoring a strike against another outstretched leg.

As sawblade met flesh, Jaune watched. He noticed every strike the man put forth against beast, every attack efficient in its movement, covering only the areas intended. Before him stood a man ("Faunus," he corrected himself) that had seen his share of combat. As a second limb met the same fate as the first, Jaune felt hope as Crim pushed his attack forward. When the chainsword made contact with the Grimm's faceplate, the Arachnus pushed backwards, flinging the end of its abdomen towards the aggressor, firing a spray of web towards the weapon. Even as the circular motion of his weapon was jammed, Crim pushed forward, brute strength doing what the weapon now could not. As a cut was opened beneath the Arachnus, its upper body came crashing down towards the man. Moving with a speed he did not know he possessed, Jaune positioned his shield above Crim, keeping the Grimm from crushing the faunus. Seizing the oppurtunuity, Crim swung against the beast again, aiming for the connection between the Grimm's head and body. As the sawsword lodged into the beast's flesh, he ripped the weapon forwards and down as hard as he could, effectively decapitating the monstrosity. Victory in hand, the pair retreated back into the engine room compartment. As the next pair of slender legs entered the doorway, they steeled themselves for another fight. As another pair pushed through the doorway, they felt the light of hope begin to falter. One Arachnus had been hard to fight, but two was probably more than they could handle at this point. Using the web spun by the previous Grimm, these beasts began circling their prey while clinging to the walls. Crim tried to fire up his chainsword, only to find it still jammed by the webs thrown around it. The pair of humanoids faced off against the beasts in front of them, now on opposite walls. A leg lashed past Jaune, barely missing the boy, but hitting a target behind him. Jaune turned and saw one of the White Fang members impaled upon the limb, still alive and now being brought back towards the jowls of the creature in front of him. As the fangs entered its body, the faunus let out a short scream of pain before the venom took effect, numbing its entire body, Grimm feeding off the energy as every emotion turned dark.

As Jaune witnessed the dismemberment of the faunus in front of him, he realized that seeing the bodies of those that had fallen was nothing compared to actually watching as the light left their eyes. Caught in his world of revelation, he failed to register another leg snap out lightning-quick towards him. Moving reflexively, his shield came up, ricocheting the offensive limb towards the ceiling where it punctured the metal. Train of thought lost, Jaune ran towards the Arachnus, intending to end the fight as quickly as possible. Dodging as the second front limb shot towards him, Jaune rolled under the beast, slamming his shield upwards into the underprotected belly of the spider. Black blood seeped through the cracks in the exoskeleton as the spinneret came to bear against the human. Firing a ball of web, the Arachnus brought itself crashing down, attempting to flatten the human foolish enough to be underneath it. As the spider landed, eight eyes stared into two, Jaune having managed to escape the body of the Grimm but not the web blast. Rooted to the spot, Jaune swung Crocea Mors towards his foe, blade catching against the mandibles of the beast, faunus still hanging from its mouth. Once more, blade pushed against bone, but this time the bone didn't give way. Unable to put his entire weight behind the strike, it didn't have the power needed to cut through the armor. Pulling the blade back, Jaune thrust his blade, this time aiming for the open space between the mandibles, the least armored spot he could reach from his position. As his sword neared the mark, the mandibles came crashing into it from both sides. Without a method to increase the weapon's speed, Jaune stood at yet another disadvantage against the subterranean Grimm. Unable to push the attack in farther, Jaune stared down the beast, daring it to let go of the weapon in order to strike at him. As the beast's leg was wrenched from the ceiling, Jaune's shield came up to meet the attack, another powerful hit scored against the creature. But as Jaune reinforced his shield to deflect the attack, his attention to the sword had slackened slightly, but it was enough. Re-focusing just in time, Jaune watched as his heirloom was shattered, one piece of metal becoming many beneath the strength of the Grimm. Jaws open wide, the beast lunged towards Jaune, red mandibles opening as it intended to capture its prey.

As its prey shattered into pieces, the Grimm was confused. When it spotted that same prey on the ground a little farther away, the Arachnus began moving forward again. As the impossibly slender blade entered one of its eyes, the beast lurched back. As a second strike pierced another eye, the Grimm felt its movement beginning to slow. Even as it collapsed to the ground, the six remaining eyes searched for whatever it was that had assaulted it. Six glowing red eyes looked into a pair of mismatched eyes as the girl grinned. As one of the front legs shot towards the target, it was met with an open parasol, appendage bouncing off harmlessly before coming to rest on the floor behind the girl. Attempting to retreat, the spider moved towards the door to the compartment, all thoughts of feasting gone from its mind. Five eyes stared at two as another impossibly fast thrust pierced an undamaged eye. Unearthly sounds careened from the wounded beast as Jaune's work on the mandible was finished. With the bloody tool laying on the ground, the Arachnus knew this fight was over. As the thin blade penetrated the space between two cranial plates, the beast collapsed.

As the Grimm began to fade away, Neo turned and looked at the group in front of her. Lieutenant Crim was still alive, Perry seemed to still be breathing, but her gaze stopped on the only other human in the room, an unconscious blond still gripping the broken hilt of a weapon. As the remaining faunus began to stream from the compartment, she watched as Crim hefted the boy over his shoulder. Curiosity piqued, she stared as the lieutenant carried a human safely out of the room. In her time of working with the faunus, he had never shown anything but contempt for humans, often leaving them where they lie, living or not. As the group left, she took note of the broken sword on the ground, clearly the weapon of the blond as no one in the White Fang had the means to acquire a weapon of such quality. Scooping up a fragment of the metal, she followed the White Fang members as they left the engine room, bodies of the fallen left behind for the scavengers that would arrive upon the scene shortly.

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A/N: Hey look, I'm not dead and actually still writing. Woohoo


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